The Love Plant

Lavender, Love and Pasta

A Plant that Inspires and Feeds

What if I told you that there was such a plant that brings luck and romance? This plant is native to the Mediterranean region and dates all the way back to 2500 years ago— this plant grew from the earth during Biblical times.

It has a vast array of uses such as for the culinary arts, herbal cures for insomnia, anxiety, and more. It’s used for beauty and hygiene like in soaps, scented waters and candles, oils for topical use and many more.

The name of this plant can even be translated to “devotion” and “undying love.” Which is particularly fitting because, when its petals are dried enough, it’s commonly used as wedding confetti.

When I think of this plant, it takes me back to days spent in Provence bit far from the Italian countryside.

In Tuscany, Italy, an Italian farmer finishes off a well-deserved meal after a long day’s work of caring for the charming bushes of this very plant. He looks out at the view that he so often takes for granted:

The greenest grass stretches far out into the hills, plants look towards the sun, basking in his warm rays, the wind dances through the trees and forces the leaves on the tree to fly, and the wind guides the plants to sway and carries the scent of these particular plants along with its trail.

A fragrance that spreads a feeling of calm and love, a scent that carries loving memories and etches them into the minds, never fading and staying— for all that are present.

The name of this lovely herb: Lavandua but we know it as lavender.

Lavender is one of the most widely recognized plants and herbs in the world. Known for its beautiful design and exhilarating scent, it has a following of admirers for all of its thousands of years on this Earth.

“Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram

the marigold, that goes to bed wi’ th’ sun

and with him rises, weeping: these are flowers

of middle summer…” (Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale 95)

Lavender has been an object of love for many years and an influence of the arts, cuisine, medicine, and culture.

Here’s an interesting fact. Leonardo da Vinci actually had his own recipe for making a perfume involving the lavender flower. His steps were very simple:

• First, take rose water and wash your hands in it

• Take lavender flower and rub it with your palms

You will achieve the desired effect.

A Summer Dish

It’s the middle of summer— yes! it’s July! Generally, people are enjoying more time in their gardens: planting the usual tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries.

How about this summer, we bring a little more excitement to our dishes with something a little more different and distinct. Make your dishes new by adding something classic. Add some romance to your garden by adding the lavender flower.

Lavender is the trendy, up-and-coming flavor to add to a new array of plates. Let’s not forget, the stirring effects the lavender will have on your dish’s appearance.

Lavender and Fusilli Pasta

My favorite recipe is a refreshing, cool pasta dish, made with fusilli pasta, fresh peppers, olives, and fresh lavender flowers. It’s a refreshing summertime entree that looks like everything was plucked out of a garden.

Just so you know, this recipe is plucked out of my book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions, which is filled with plenty of recipes that’ll match your amazing memories. It’s the second edition of the book that won the Gourmet Awards. But you don’t need a special occasion to create this stunning recipe! This plate makes any day a special one.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 red pepper

• 1 yellow pepper

• 2 tbsp of chopped olives

• 4 lavender flowers

• 1 pound of fusilli pasta

• 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• The juice of half of a fresh lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut and clean peppers (remove all the seeds) place the peppers on a cookie sheet under the boiler for 10 minutes (or until the skin begins to burn).

2. Remove the peppers and let them cool in a paper bag.

3. When they cool, remove the skins from the peppers.

4. Chop the peppers and place them in a large bowl, adding chopped olives.

5. Gently break apart the lavender flowers and add them to the pepper and olive mixture.

6. Drizzle in the olive oil, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and blend gently, then set the blended mix aside.

7. Cook the fusilli pasta until it’s al dente (according to the ingredients of your package of pasta).

8. Drain the pasta and place it into the blended mixture.

9. Toss and serve al fresco.

10. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

And now you have a really refreshing summer dish.

If You Don’t Want to Serve Right Away

By the way, if you’re not planning on serving this dish right away. Say you’re waiting for guests and friends to arrive and you don’t want it soggy. What I like to do, in that case, when I’m draining my pasta, I’d add a splash of cold water at the end and then put it in the lavender mixture. This will keep your pasta firmer for a little bit longer.

Serve this dish with a refreshing glass of dry white wine. I like this wine called “Est! Est! Est!” because it’s a particular drink with a baggage of history.